Alex Swenson, a former Division I coach and recruiter, explains why coaches ask what you're looking for in a school and how to answer. Focus on playing time, winning, skill development, and fit. Ask the coach about their ideal athlete profile to make it a real conversation.
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When a college coach asks you, "What are you looking for in a school?" Here's exactly what to say. Don't just give a generic answer like, "I'm trying to play at the highest level that I possibly can," because there's a reason they're asking this. As a former D1 coach, scout, and recruiter who's asked this question hundreds and hundreds of times, I'm trying to get a feel of where you're at and what you are looking for to see how I can sell you on my program or if it's even worth selling you on my program, alright? So when a coach asks you, You can say something like this, "Hey Coach, I'm looking for a school where I can come in and compete right away and help a team win a national championship while also developing my skills so I can continue to help the team win as I go through my career. Not only on the field, but I want to develop off the field with my academics to make sure I get a good degree. So it's important to me that it's not only a fit athletically, but it's a fit academically and then also personally." That's what you're gonna wanna say, something like that. If you know your majors, if you know what you wanna major in, go on and say, "Hey, I'm interested in possibly majoring in X, Y, and Z." All right? And then on a follow-up to that is like, "Hey coach, what are you looking for in an athlete? What would be an ideal athlete to come into your program and help the team win?" If you're not having conversations yet and you're interested in getting a proven plan to start generating these conversations and interest in offers, comment "plan" down below and I'll send you the playbook.
